Fall 2011 - 61270 - PA388L - Advanced Topics in Management

Managing Diversity

Course Overview

Students desiring additional exposure to public management issues may select from seminars on such topics as managing diversity, principles and practices of effective leadership, and social entrepreneurship.

Section Description

As American society becomes increasingly diverse, organization leaders and managers need a broad appreciation of the variety of individuals and groups with whom they interact. I believe a major challenge facing America in this century is its ability to understand diversity and to create a truly multi-cultural society. Effective communication and relationships with persons from ethnic, cultural, and experience backgrounds other than one's own requires knowledge of their history, life experiences, and views of the world.

This course is designed to acquaint students with the variety of groups and personal orientations they will encounter during the course of a professional career and to provide insights into their differing histories and experiences. Among the various groups to be studied will be those based on gender, ethnicity, age, personality, and sexual and gender orientation. The course is organized as a seminar and combines readings with experiential learning such as simulations and group processes. Reading material is drawn largely from autobiographies and novels, supplemented by documentary films. Each student will have the opportunity to study in-depth a particular culture or group in which she or he is particularly interested.